iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 4h

I don't kink shame, but these are spicy cookies.

Lu chocolate covered cookies named Mamie au top (dark chocolate) and Maman au top (milk chocolate). Could also be construed as "granny/mommy on top"

Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 6h

I see someone created a Bsky list called "Best Canadian TTRPG Starter Pack" and put me in it. I'll have you know I'm more of an Expert product ;) Jokes aside, Hi, I'm Phil and I have been a GM for 43 years now. I am a strong advocate of all kinds of TTRPGs, from the big d20 ones AND indies.

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 7h

Got paid for my 1st week last night. That was not expected of my new job. Will allow making rent less of a budgeting Tetris as I transition from Employment Insurance.

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 7h

You know your manager cares a lot when he asks you to punch 30 min early to go help him pick potted flowers up for the store at the local public market. That or it's his flamboyant queerness :)

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I do not... Track my macros. That's why Excel has a help function. This joke brought to you by the letter X and the number 70s.

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Had a client at the store genuinely excited to play a myconid character in D&D. Me: You will be allowed to fart non stop at the table to roleplay your telepathic spores ! Her: Oh my god! Him: No burritos before the game for you!

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Today a guy traded a budget car's worth in Magic cards for sealed products (booster packs and boxes). We're talking near 5 digits. Also, one last round to the two headed giant prerelease tournament before I can go home #TCGStoreLife #LongDay

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

We also have this customer who buys several boxes of boosters, opens them in the store, and gifts us back all his "chaff" which we enter in our singles inventory. Today he added a can of coke to his 900$ purchase. Me: The soda is on us. Him: Oh my gosh thank you so much! Me: Least we can do.

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

An American tweenaged actor filming a show in Montreal came into the store and plonked 1k$ of booster boxes. He was happy. :)

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Day two at the job: Ran two 70+ prerelease tournaments, sold tons of product, made dad jokes, did quite a few up sales, and closed the cash register only 10 cents off balance vs a low 5 figure sales :)

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Myst was the first time Alex and I (co-parents now) we finished a game while collaborating. It made us realize how our respective problem solving techniques were mutually exclusive but complementary.

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

At the store: Manager: I think we'll make a good team. Me: I'm actually you from 20 years in your future, coming back to check on you. Client to Manager: You'll look good in 20 years!

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I was reminded that I have the type of charisma that upsells 3 Final Fantasy decks to a guy that was unsure how to bring his friends into Commander and wasn't quite sure what Commander was in the first place. It's a power I'll need to wield responsibly.

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

In other news, you can turn dead goatfolk bodies into jerky goat meat in Caves of Qud. I was a bit troubled by that. But then again, in a world where pigs shoot bullets through their nose, you gotta adapt.

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

The Chatty DM returns to retail today as I'll become the Assistant manager at the Montreal store of Jeux Face à Face (Face to Face Games). Come and ask me if we have some in the back. I'll be glad to answer that. Or call me to ask me if the store is open! :)

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

TIL that Caves of Qud allows you to "buy" all the lead slugs (bullets) held by neutral or friendly rifle turrets. Good to know!

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

A sad consequence of my new job, one I accept but am pained by, is that it breaks my 27 year RPG gaming streak. We can't meet anymore, at least not as easily. Hopefully we'll find an alternative.

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Reposted by Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM)

Wil (He/Him) @rivetgeek.aggregatecognizance.com · 23/09/2026

This is starting to look like a Tribes in the Dark #TTRPG book.

A screenshot of a Table of Contents, showing the chapters Secrets of Vimary, The Lost Tribes, the Children of Lilith, Aspects, New Playbooks, Quests, Alternate Rules and Playbook Sheets.

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

CW: Wealth and Privilege I struggled to find a job these last 6 months. Sent more than 50 applications. Got 2 interviews, both telling me I was too senior for the position and they could not meet my salary demands (north of low 6 figures in CDN$). Then I realized something.

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Like surfing channels, Nico surfed my 4k sized Retrodeck library on the Steam Machine the other day, commenting on brands he recognized, or didn't know were on certain platforms. His last platform was the Atari 2600. Nico: Those aren't games. Me: I played the HELL out of Combat, kiddo.

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Me: I need that new RPG book but my new salary is half my previous one. Also me: Employee pricing and ordering at cost? Huh!

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

If you took away all of Robin Hobb's FitzChivalry's internal dialogue of self doubt and guilt, the Fool/Assassin Hepatology would fit in a novella.

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Watching Ethan Hawke rave enthusiastically about music I give no fucks about and be caught by his energy enough to listen to "Song for Zula" by Phosphorescent and have a "Beta Band" moment straight out of the High Fidelity movie.

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Reposted by Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM)

Rob Donoghue @rdonoghue.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I am once again pleading for any RPG creators who make PDFs to put *something* on them to let me know what game this is for. When I am trying to sort through hundreds (or thousands) of files and I come across handouts.pdf or charsheet.pdf, I'd really like to put them with their parent game.

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

If you are Euro French, you'll get it even more.

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Of Growth and closure: A post divorce story in many parts. Alex and I went to see our daughter play Varsity Ultimate Frisbee today. We spent the longest time we have together in years. We got divorced 15 years ago and been friendly co-parents since.

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Cave of Qud has special giant funghi called "Weep" that produce various liquids. One such is the "Wine Weep" from which you can harvest lots of wine, a very valuable liquid. I hate that this is both wrong and accurate at the same time. #AppliedMicrobiologyDoneRightlyWrong

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Friends online: What shall we play. Me: How about Roll for the Galaxy on Steam. Friends: Cool! Me: Oh, it's a Windows only, gimme a minute (Goes in living room with Macbook Air (MBA), fires Steam Machine, downloads game, starts it on TV, streams it to MBA) It was convoluted, but it worked.

Amazon box-littered living room. A wall mounted TV shows Roll for the Galaxy running, it is mirrored on a laptop screen located closer to the camera.

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Paraphrasing an 11 yo story: Nico: We stopped at Starbucks on our way from school, Rory took a PSL. Me: And? Rory: It was discusting! Nico (Laughing): She didn't know a latte had coffee in it. Rory (Fake crying): So sad My (back then) tweenagers learning some hard lessons just there.

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

If you like potatoes and space games, give spaceplan a try (it's an incremental idle game).

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I've had a Steam Machine for a few months now, the 500 GB model + controller kit. I added 2 internal 8 TB HDDs mounted in a HDD enclosure and a 256 GB SD Card. (Spoiler, this is overkill). I am SO SATISFIED. If you see it as a console and not so much a PC, the disk access delays are acceptable.

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

My week in Arizona's East Valley was a quest to find great spicy food. My favorite ended up being a plate of Szechuan-style twice-cooked pork in black bean sauce with a side order of chicken dumplings in chili oil broth. Place: Szechuan Tasty 辛香味

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

That and making convenience for the majority become the new definition of freedom.

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I was one of the 3 scriptwriters on this game and I left a few very "Chatty DM" marks into it. Get it, or there will be a RECKONING! (I put that Granny Weatherwax quote in the game, without the Creative Director noticing) ;) (I have no skin in the game anymore, left the company 3 years ago)

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

What is it with pinballs. Analogue or digital, that calls to us? My father bought an analog pinball when I was a tweenager. It was a beach party themed one. The max score was supposedly 9999 points. Mu uncle (mom's brother) would often visit and beat the fuck oit of that limit. I never did.

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Today I signed a full time contract as an Assistant Manager to the Montreal Face to Face store. It's technically temporary (maternity replacement) but things may become more permanent if our needs (mine, the store's) meet after that. Come see me from next week onwards!

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

11 year old quote: "The thing with your D&D games is no matter what level, it's going to be about having to deal with psychotic gods, unhinged forces of nature and if an Avatar of Chaos or two. Even the goddamn rats in the goddamn sewers are agents of some Apocalyptic Messenger of Planetary Doom."

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

My daughter plays college level frisbee football. She used to play for the University of Montreal team, and she played against Quebec City's Université Laval team. She moved to attend UL this fall. She showed up at their frisbee football team practice and they accepted her. Attagirl!

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Reposted by Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM)

whoo hoO HOOO HA HAHH HAH! @leashedmonkey.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Technically it looks like you have a freewheel on there? If so, not a fixie, but could very easily be made into one. fixie= fixed gear.

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Me: I bought a one speed bike to replace the one that got crushed by a reverse-going delivery truck. Ex GF: You got a Fixie? Me: No it's a Pixel, one speed. EGF: You got a fixie then? Me (Goggles is up): Huh, yeah, that's what I got.

A minimalist matte black one-speed bike resting against a lamp post on a wide sidewalk.

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Whataburger was had and found deeply satisfying.

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

My most Boomer take is that now that Dungeon Crawler Carl dropped into the geek mainstream, Facebook is becoming flooded with shitty "let's put Donut into a Tardis" kinda fan posting.

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

My stay in the suburbs of Pheonix comes to an end soon. Last day in town, visiting a "Café and Taproom" that sells coffee by the unit but lets you wear a bracelet that lets you activate up to 24 taps of craft beer, cider, cheap wine, and... cream soda.

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I am aware that once again, my salary will heavily depend on WotC whose corporate behavior has been somewhat problematic and may get worse with Hasbro CEO taking over. I choose to focus on the amazing creative people who work there and make some of our favorite games.

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I can't for the life of me place the urban South Arizona accent. I sense more difference across generations than actual regional accents. Is it because we are near California?

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Tonight, our restaurant server sold us a dessert called "Salt River Cracker" which is, I shit you not, 3 layers of saltine crackers sandwiching 2 layers of caramel, with a salty dark chocolate too layer. This absolutely stoner snack should not have been so fucking good.

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Phil. A. Ménard (AKA The Chatty DM) @chattydm.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Any Skeet starting with "I am starting to believe that my (parental figure) was right and that (hot take) means that either your (parental figure) was wise before their years... Or you are turning into them.

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